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We're slowly going faster
Page 18
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IT SEEMS THAT we may be on course to improve the nightmare of traffic congestion. The Department for Transport's Survey of Traffic Speeds on English Trunk Roads 2003 shows that average traffic speeds decreased between 1995 and 1998 in all time periods and across all road classes but that traffic began to move a little quicker between 1998 and 2003.
Although average speeds in the offpeak period in 2003 are closer to 1995 levels, average speeds in the peak periods are still lower than they were in 1995. Speed by time
The average speed of traffic on English trunk roads in 2003 was 49.5mph from 7am-10am; 54.6mph from 10am-4pm; and 50.6mph from 4pm-7pm. The morning peak was 0.9mph faster than in 2001; off-peak was 1.6mph faster; and the evening peak was 0.5mph slower. The largest increase in average off-peak and morning-peak speeds was on motorways. Speed by region
The biggest increases in speed were in East Anglia, London and the South-East average traffic speeds were lowest in London and highest in the South-West. Differences between peak and off-peak traffic speeds were biggest in the SouthEast (7-9mph) and lowest in the South-West (0.50.7mph). Fuel prices
The UK remains by far the most expensive EU country in which to buy diesel. The International Road Transport Union says Luxembourg is still the cheapest in the old EU at €0.66/lit. In those countries which joined on 1 May diesel is still very cheap in Poland it's just €0.61/lit compared with €1.24Ait in the UK. The effect of Poland and other states joining the EU has yet to affect their fuel prices. The north of Scotland continues to be the most expensive place in the UK to buy fuel, according to the AA; the north of England is the cheapest.